New Piccadilly Mono-Screen Can Target You With Custom Ads

The six oversized video screens in London’s Piccadilly Circus are under renovation. Soon they’ll be replaced with one monolithic mega-panel, and it will be smart.

The screen, which was developed by Landsec, can target you with “bespoke” ads based on your gender, age or emotions. It can also recognize the make and color of passing cars, and adjust advertisements accordingly.

Updating the Iconic Screens

The single, hi-definition LED screen will replace the six screens that have loomed over Piccadilly Circus since the late 1990s. The single screen has 281 trillion colors at a 4K resolution. It’s wifi equipped for interactive features. And it’s able to respond in real time to the weather, breaking news and social media updates.

The tennis court sized slab will still be divided into six smaller pieces of advertising real estate. But advertisers will have the opportunity to temporarily take over the entire screen for special, larger than life features.

Cameras embedded throughout the screen enable it to recognize cars and consumers as they pass by. Advertisers can pre-program triggers so that certain ads are playing when a select demographic is nearby.

Piccadilly Privacy Concerns

Let’s say you’re walking through Piccadilly Circus and you prefer not to be gender stereotyped, or targeted with privacy-invading advertisements. Can you opt out of this consumer surveillance program? So far there’s no indication that you can.

But a Landsec spokesperson told Mashable that the new Piccadilly screen will not collect or store any personal details.

Unveiling Date Not Yet Certain

The screen is scheduled to go live later this month. But Landsec has declined to offer a specific release date. There have been concerns about overcrowding the West End for the fanfare.

They have said they will be offering free public wifi in the Piccadilly area, which will give them the opportunity to land their ads not just on the big screen, but on your personal device as well.